. chairman of the joint congressional committee on inauguration ceremonies charles a. schumer. and lamar alexander. the speaker of the house of representatives. john boehner. senate marge majority reader harry reid ander drer rick cantor. [cheering and applause] [cheering and applause] [cheering and applause] ♪ ♪ [patriotic music playing] [cheering and applause] [chanting obama] ♪ ♪ [patriotic music playing] [cheering and applause] please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the joint congressional committee, the honorable charles e. schumer. [cheering and applause] mr. president, mr. vice president, members of congress, all who are present, and to all who are watching; welcome to the capitol app and the celebration of our great democracy. [applause] this is the 57th inauguration of an american president. and no matter how many times one witnesses this event, it's simplicity, the enate imaginety, and most of all, the meaning that sacred yet caution yet trusting of power from we the people to the chosen leader never fails to make one's heart beat faster as it wil

chuck schumer instead. take a look. >> folks, i raise my glass to a man who never, never, never operates out of fear, only operates out of confidence, and i'm toasting you, chuck. >> oh. and a guy -- a guy who i plan on working with. you can't get rid of me, man. remember, i'm still part of the senate. god bless you, chuck. you've done a great job. lamar, you have as well. to chuck schumer. good to see you, pal. >> i'll toast to that, mr. chuck schumer. >> doesn't need a prompter. >> all right. now, all of his enthusiasm yesterday helped fuel speculation about a presidential run in 2016. just take a look at some of the recent headlines. i've got scarborough over here throwing stuff. i get no respect. i'm like rodney dangerfield. vice president biden invited key players -- >> i'm almost positive he was drinking apple juice. i just poured this jameson. do we really want to see what's going to happen? >> look at this. this is incredible. i can't even get through the script. what am i going to do? what am i going to do? >> come here. >> come on. this is just embarrassment. ow. still

end of this year. chuck schumer, john mccain, dick durbin, marco rubio and bob menendez will discuss the plan. we'll bring it to you live. our first read team notes this is the first time senator mccain signed on to a priority of president obama. he takes the vision on the road to las vegas. but within the last hour, white house press secretary jay carney confirmed the president would not unveil specific legislation. the plan unveiled today would be the first major immigration overhaul proposal in six years but one border state democrat congressman castro of texas say that is the devil is in the details. >> we've got to make sure that those measurements, when we have determined that we have secured the border, that those measurements are objective. otherwise you will have fights down the road where folks are saying, well, wait a minute. let's not move on to the second phase of the bill because we have not first completed the first phase. >> besides border security, there's guest workers and employer verification and a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants

not be done taxing the well-to-do on the heels of chuck schumer over the weekend saying that the senate will produce a budget and it will include higher taxes on the wealthy and republicans may not like it but paraphrasing they just have to deal with that. what do you think of that? >> well, i fundamentally disagree. i don't think most americans would say to give more money to washington to have washington spend their money is a way to help anyone. we identify with those who have not experienced upward mobility and want to help those who need a safety net and provide the relief and save the programs and give them some opportunity working through areas on education, hopefully, the white house will finally join us in some of thosests, and there are all kinds of things and workforce training and others that we can find common ground on depending on whether the mood today lasts. >>neil: do you get a sense they are leery, the dims, to go too crazy on spending cuts. the president told president obama he sees it as a health care problem. if they get health care spending under control yo

sail through. we'll get it done and wrap it up by the summer. that is what senator schumer said. talking to people today, i think that while the principles are good, taking principles and putting them to legislative text is a very different thing. also, a little bit of an inside washington point but it is important. this legislation would have to go through senator bob le pat ha lean's committee. the problem from the left will be greater because they say the principles are not good enough to protect human rights. >> kimberly: okay. too difficult perhaps for the left to support. might be problematic. eric? >> all of this is predicated on making sure the borders are secure. we have known for the past 70, 80, 150 years we can't secure the border. this is interesting to say it's batesed on the secure board first. the g.o.p. has a problem. how do you not alienate the hispanic vote? they need to get it back to bush levels of 40% to win another presidential election. i'm not sure giving amnesty type of program to 11 million or more illegals in the country already is the way to do it. i

from chuck schumer the represents the united states senate. next is a call from nelson. caller: i have a question with the ceremonies being whipped on the 21st. i notice reagan's inauguration in 1985 that it was moved to the 21st. if there is a change of presidents and falls on a sunday, are the ceremonies moved to the 21st there as well? thank you. host: yesterday recovered the official swearing in of the president and vice president. those ceremonies held separately. those were to affirm the constitutional requirements. today is really the public ceremony, and they follow the constitution. today all about the big public events. today the first public event. the next call is from robin. she is watching us in tennessee. caller: i am so glad i voted for obama. he really shines when he makes his speech. you can tell he is sincere in trying to do what the majority of the people want. and i am really proud of him and proud to be an american because of him. and my son was in the choir. i would have liked to see more of them. they are a great college. i just hope the people that do not agree

senator schumer of new york coming up for him will, enough senators have come out for him and clear he will get confirmed. so this is a fight the president picked with congress and won. that gives him more political capital, a great place for the president to be. but this hearing is going to have a lot more fireworks. republicans, democrats, everybody will pile on to senator hagel. but don't be fooled by the rhetoric. he'll pass. and one are more cabinet note. today is secretary geithner's last gay at the treasury. he has a long history with the building. he came in not just as treasury secretary, but he also worked there as a civil servant. >> let's get to what happened yesterday. senator feinstein's gun reform proposal. she knows it will never get through the house. what was she trying to accomplish? >> she is trying to build support for this issue. she's talking at a time when opinion polls make it clear that the public is for it. and a big voice, bill that we'll hear on this in coming days is gaby by giffords, she'll be lobbying for this bill. she and her husband, mark kelly, th

gets hurt. that's what we want to avoid. >> last week, senator schumer said, we'll do a budget. >> great. finally. it's been four years. >> but this is what he said has to be in it. >> you're going to need more revenue as well as more cuts to get the deficit down. i've talked to leader reid. budget claire murray. we're going to do a budget this year, and it's going to have revenues in it. and our republican colleagues better get used to that. >> so this is still a fight between how much spending cuts and how much taxes. the president got his -- >> well, simpson 3w0-bowles sai let's get rid of the high tax rates. the president doesn't want that. you had $1 trillion in tax increases with obama care. new tax increases at the beginning of this month. and now they are calling for even more tax increases, and they are not calling to cut spending. they are calling for spending increases. so basically what they're saying is, they want americans to pay more so washington can spend more. that's not going to help the economy, and that is not going to close the gap and balance the budget.

watching him as he watched, you know, chuck schumer, the opening comments. and it was the side of the president we didn't see in the first term, much more emotional after newtown, even thanking the field staffers. he has just a real sense, are -- not only what it means to him but for those who reelected him. it sends a message, one term could have been a fluke, but two terms sends a message of who he is now. >> the first interest i had, is there a human being there? and you can tell right away, they approach you on the floor of the senate. there is a complete vacancy in there, they are nothing but mechanical politicians, they wanted to be that their entire lives. and then there are the guys, the women who are there who want to be a real person. and that is the kind of person who would know where he was at that moment, to stop and make a turn. >> that is right, it reminds me of somebody who was down there, a woman who was there, 86 years old, she said she attended the first inaugural for fdr, i asked her what made her want to come down there for the inauguration. she said he had a stil

stawn, wife of chuck schumer, and the wife of harry reed and mr. paul pelosi, the husband of house minortiy leader nancy pelosi. >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of the united states, mrs. michelle obama, accompanied by secretary of the senate nancy erikson, clerk of the house of representatives, karen h0. 0s, mrs. schubert, mrs. reed and -- [cheering] in >> next up we're going to see the approach and about to be announced of vice president, the world's happiest guy, bill biden. don't think we have ever seen him except in times of national crises without that smile on his face. >> and why not today. >> it's the effect of joe biden's remarks on this administration. they were an odd couple. he was the hot to barack obama's cool. >> he was the punch line for a lot of late-night monologues. if anything, joe biden has emerged in this administration has a key player and indispensable player in dealing with the congress and the political part of politics, the people part of politics which the president does not spend a lot of time, effort, or energy on. >> do you agree w

happen. >> it's best symbolized by this unlikely duo of john mccain and chuck schumer on morning joe today. take a look at them together. this is when they were asked about whether this really amounts to amnesty, which, of course, is according to some republicans a dirty word. let's watch. >> this is not amnesty. it is a tough path to citizenship, but it is an opportunity, and they get in line between -- behind everyone who has come to this country legally. >> you have to work. you have to pay taxes. you are going pay a fine. there will be some admission of wrong doing. so it is not amnesty in any sense of the word. >> chris, susan was just talking about warmer temperatures today. it does feel different. maybe we're just all so hungry for anything that's bipart sfwlan, but this seems to be real. >> it does seem to be real. i would say that i think what senators mccain and schumer are talking about is the nub of the issue. particularly can republican members of congress convince their -- themselves and the people who elect them that this path to citizenship clause is tough enough that

mccain and schumer said on "morning joe" today. >> this is not amnesty. it is a tough path to citizenship, but it is an opportunity. and they get in line between -- behind everyone who has come to this country legally. >> you have to work. you have to pay taxes. you're going to pay a fine. there'll be some admission of wrongdoing. so it is not amnesty in any sense of the word. >> the other side of that is it's a tough path to citizenship. they're just not going to say to you, you've been here so you can stay. there are going to be rules about paying back taxes, admitting guilt. is that going to be too tough for some progressives to stomach? >> well, i think there are two challenges here. one is to get past the toxicity of the "a" word, amnesty. and the president and the democrats really need to sell, as the senator mentioned, this is not amnesty. it is earned citizenship, involving the back taxes, fines, having to learn english, and to get in line behind legal immigrants. >> and one of the things chuck schumer pointed out this morning on "morning joe," is that if you actually applied that

. senator schumer said we didn't just get our revenues. we got some. there has to be more that are part of it. the president will say that. so as you are -- >> are we for more revenue? no, we are not. >> even if it's from tax reform? >> if you keep raising revenues, you're not going to get different tax reform. i know you didn't want a chart, but i'm kind of a chart guy. this dream line shows you the historic taxes. the red line is tax increases. the red line, where spending is going. spending is the problem. revenues aren't the problem. if you keep chasing higher spending with higher revenues as they're calling for, you're going to hurt economic growth. you'll never catch up. you'll shut down the economy and you won't get the budget down. >> when you were campaigning in virginia, a state you wanted to carry but didn't, you said, look, these sequestration cuts, these automatic spending cuts that are put in place because republicans and democrats can't agree, so you have to have this sword that comes down, you said we're not going to let those happen. those will not happen, those au

things as we move forward but the politics of this turned upside down according to chuck schumer and i think many people agree to this this bipartisan group of lawmakers together and this is certainly on the fast track if they go as planned. we could see legislation on the table by the spring or summer. incredible events we are witnessing regarding immigration reform. "the cycle" picks up things next. >>> just now, a bipartisan group of republicans unveiled their proposal to revamp our nation's immigration system. the deal includes a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the u.s. it prioritizes agricultural workers and immigrant coming here as children but before we start to creating permanent residents, the senators say washington must work on securing the borders and employment verification system that actually works and the undocumented immigrant haves to pass a background check, learn english english, pay back taxes and fines and then go to the back of the line of immigrants to become americans. this is very similar to what the white

chuck schumer. let me bring in quickly david shuster who is on the ground in washington, d.c. david, where are you perched? >> governor granholm, we're at 7th and madison. i'm personally thrilled to hear that the marine corps band has been the start of our coverage as opposed to beyonce, kelly clarkson and james taylor. we're going to hear from them as well but you're right, the marine corps band goes back to 1790s, back to the time of george washington. part of the official sort of vibe that we're going to hear this morning. we're at 7th and madison, about seven blocks from the reviewing stand, from the area where president obama and the dignitaries are -- 1500 dignitaries will be seated around president obama. what they've done is because of security, they've pushed the median -- a lot of folks are further back. they divide the mall into sections. it requires a certain level of security to get up close. a little less security to be further back where we are. based on the crowds that we're seeing and we should keep in mind it is about 40, 42 degrees, not a bad day here in washingto

in the dust. this is just one of many issues. senator chuck schumer new york led seven of his senate colleagues in announcing a bipartisan plan for immigration reform today. they want the proposal to be pushed through the senate this spring. >> for the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it. >> the plan is a common sense approach to give 11 million undocumented workers in this country a chance to become citizens without fearing deportation. >> if you got up this morning and had fruits for breakfast, it was probably picked by the bent back of an immigrant worker. if you slept in a hotel or motel of the nation, you probably had your room done by an immigrant worker. >> the problem is in the past the republicans have screamed amnesty whenever immigration reform comes up. this process is not automatic amnesty. the senators are calling it a tough but fair path to citizenship. an undocumented worker must complete a background check and be clear of any felony charges. they must pay any fines and any back taxes. there is a requireme

biden was born to be a politician. sort of like bill clinton or even chuck schumer. these are people who really live off this sort of interaction with crowds. barack obama is a little different kind of character. he is a more reserved, more cerebral kind of person. >> looks like they'll get back in the limb yoo for the final d into the white house. >> it's worth looking at that door to that limo. look at how thick that door is. that's not a honda. >> that's not your typical cadill cadillac. it's not something you just go and say, i'll take one of those. >> with a different paint job. >> yeah, give me the -- >> he really -- i mean, he does not even look like he wants to get back in. gentlemen, i would like to tell you, you might want to turn around, because the vice president and dr. biden are about to approach us and pass us. >> let's see if we can do it again. let's see if joe biden or -- will recognize and will say -- i'm going to have to stand up. once i stand up, all my wires here they sort of fall apart. >> they are very excited to see him. >> let's see -- hey, i'm waving. >> yo

-- senator menendez and i and senator schumer, senator graham, senator durbin and some -- we are -- we've been working together for some weeks now. we'll be coming forward. it's not that much different from what we tried to do in 2007. martha, what's changed is honestly is that there is a new i think appreciation on both sides of the aisle, including maybe more importantly on the republican side of the aisle, that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill. we've been -- >> so this is comprehensive. it's not piecemeal. >> yeah, this piecemeal stuff, the way the senate works, very briefly, is that you bring up one section of it, someone has an amendment that brings up another part of it. >> we've seen a lot of that lately. we've definitely seen a lot of that lately. but what about a path to citizenship? >> that has to be also part of it, but from my perspective also, and i'm sure senator menendez understands as senator schumer and durbin do that my state, most of the drugs now coming across the mexican border into the united states comes through across the arizona/sonora bord

different. what isn't different is that as we heard senator schumer and others acknowledge, a very hard road to go to get actual legislation passed here. now i think more likely that we would see something like universal background checks or this gun trafficking measure that's going to be introduced by senator gillibrand and others, senator kirk in the next few days. hard to see senator feinstein's bill actually being enacted. and yet it is clearly true there is something different going on this time than in past incidents. >> yeah, to your point. dianne feinstein said it will be hard but you see people like joe manchin willing to work on some things. he's a touchstone for a lot of democrats who look to people who are supporters of gun rights. i'm wontderring when you have the people who do push back on certain parts of it and that does include joe manchin and people like harry reid who basically has said he's not superulatively supportive of the president's plan. let's put it that way. i'm wondering, ryan is this because they live in those gun states, they fear the nra? tell us about t

, and chuck schumer from new york who may be uncomfortable. he's a little shy around tv cameras. >> no, he doesn't like tv cameras at all. >> don't get between chuck and the camera. >> that's right. >> the speaker behind him, eric cantor behind senator alexander and schumer. the congressional leadership, as we pointed out earlier today, met at the white house for coffee. they came back a little early and the president rode up in a motorcade. >> tyler, we saw joe biden flash that smile when he walked out. the president is smiling in his new official portrait but not -- well, he just did there. chuckled. but he was a little somber as he was walking out. >> yeah. >> some people looked at that portrait and said he's feeling cocky. >> i spent my week memorizing all kinds of inaugural trivia. the president, of course, latest in a long line of presidents, chief executives, to travel from the white house by car. the first to go by car was warren g. harding. how about that? >> and what an auspicious sign that was for his presidency. >> not good for him. >> president obama did help save the car

will be there, along with some of the bipartisan leadership of the senate and house. >> chuck schumer, harry reid, nancy pelosi, eric cantor, and john boehner will be headed over there. first, president obama began with the slogan hope and change. then he got a jolt of washington reality. we'll take a look back at the some times rocky road of the first term. >> we've seen that crowd building, craig. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the crowd, indeed, has been growing throughout the morning. say hello. say hello. before you get from the u.s. capital behind me, the less it is like an inauguration, the more it is like a block party/picnic. folks from texas, buffalo, new york, who have said several times this is far from cold. i do want to -- where are you from? >> from new jersey. >> reporter: from new jersey. first inauguration? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: what brings you out? >> obama all the way. >> reporter: how about you? where are you from? >> trenton, new jersey. >> reporter: oh, this is all jersey here? i should have known by the rowdiness. and where are you guys f

breaking eight senators four republicans led by john mccain. four led by john schumer who have come up with a come comprehensive immigration plan bi-partisan they are going to announce today which includes a path to citizenship as well as tougher enforcement at the border all contained in one bill. president obama will talk about it in las vegas tomorrow. >> that's huge story. but perhaps a bigger story sara palin dumped by fox news. she was soaking it up and saying nothing. finally, they dumped her but they still have karl rove and dennis cue sin itch. kus. nich. all of that coming up here on current tv. floorboard >> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. i want the people who watch our show, to be able to come away armed with the facts, and the arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to

schumer from new york who helped me immeasurably in 1993 by beating the efforts in the house of representatives, which was successful. richard plume of paul and chris murphy the distinguished senators from connecticut who know first hand about assault weapons and also congresswoman mccarthy from new -- near to knows firsthand about the devastation of gun violence all so congressmen prowl butter from colorado and also congresswoman who represents new town. also mayor nutter to leave the united states conference of mayors and commissioner of the philadelphia police department, the current president of the major city police chief association who will speak about the display of weapons you will see to my left. also victims from recent mass shootings and i would like to recognize other supporters who are here today on the risers behind me, we have police officers from several departments and i thank you for joining me today. [applause] and russell like to recognize when million moms for gun-control that is represented today doctors for america the american academy of pediatrics and t

vote for him, but i think when you have chuck schumer, has kind of cleared the way for a lot of -- >> kirsten gillibrand leaning on it. >> he has been able to neutralize the jewish and israel problems that he has had with chuck schumer. i'm not sure he is going to be able to quiet all the republicans that are nervous about him, but, again, this is the president's choice. he is a republican. i think it will be tough for republicans to oppose him in block. >> barring some unusual circumstance that we don't know about coming up at the hearing, jonathan, presidents do get the cabinets that they want most often, but we've also seen that the republican opposition has really struck by watching the republican questioning of both hillary clinton and john kerry. hillary clinton questioned about benghazi, clearly a setback, and a major crisis revealing that the state department was not prepared for the kind of security and threat warnings that they should have been on top of, but the questioning of hillary clinton by senator johnson and some of the others was, let's just say, less than eff